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墨書 Inktalez
The daughter-in-law made quite a scene at the door in front of so many people, yet it only served to make Zhao Meirong and Hu Qihua incredibly happy, turning into a delightful tale that spread throughout Hu Family Village and the surrounding Three Miles and Five Villages.
More than half a month later, when the house was completed, Zhao Meirong took the money back to her maternal family to settle the debt. Her sister-in-law nearly lost her temper: "Eldest Sister, didn’t we agree that you could just use it? There’s no rush to pay it back; our family won’t get angry or cause a fuss over this!"
Zhao Meirong placed the money in her sister-in-law's hands. "Feng Cai, that won’t do. You don’t know how formidable our Mao Na is. Last time she quietly came over and scolded me and your brother-in-law right in front of the neighbors..."
Her mother-in-law looked a bit confused. "Haven't you always said that girl is quite good? And she hasn't even officially entered the family yet, but she's already causing trouble with her in-laws? How are you all going to live together once she moves in?"
Zhao Meirong laughed and replied to her mother-in-law, "Mother, you seem more anxious than I am; I haven’t finished my story yet."
She continued to "complain": "You have no idea how she came over with such an attitude, her little face stern and her mouth firing off questions like a machine gun."
Then she mimicked Mao Na’s tone and mannerisms vividly: "Auntie, Uncle, are you not planning to let us live in this house?"
...
"Isn’t it only right that Hu Ruoyun gives you money for building the house? Why does everyone have to be so particular about it? Are Xiao Hu and Mei Feng not going to need us as their older siblings when they get married?"
...
After finishing her amusing performance with a smile on her face, she felt deeply moved.
Her brother-in-law's wife and mother-in-law chimed in, "You really are lucky; such a daughter-in-law is hard to find!"
Friends who have been following this story might recall an incident where Woodzi's eldest son Wu Mingyang had to pay for his bride's brother's "washing basin money" during his wedding. Woodzi Woman exchanged fifty yuan instead of the agreed one hundred, which led to a confrontation with the New Bride's brother. The plan backfired, and under pressure from the bride's aunt, she reluctantly ended up paying five hundred yuan just to bring the eldest daughter-in-law home.
Woodzi Woman is typical of someone who remembers grievances but forgets kindness; because of that incident, she had developed a grudge against this eldest daughter-in-law.
Normally, from the time a New Bride enters until they split off into separate households, they wait until the first child is born (don’t ask why; that’s just how things are done around here).
Half a year after Wu Mingyang's wedding, as his wife’s belly grew larger, Woodzi Woman began plotting. She figured that since the family would eventually split up anyway, it would be better to do so now rather than after the child was born (according to local customs, the in-laws would have to pay for the first month celebration). This way, they could save some money; if they saved on the first child, it would naturally follow for the second and Third Sister.
Eldest daughter-in-law Mu Xiumei was rather easygoing about it. Life had improved; Wu Mingyang worked with the village construction team and earned over eight yuan a day. If they split up, so be it; at least they wouldn’t all be stirring the same pot every day (note: referring to family quarrels).
As August 15 approached in the year following their marriage, Xiu Mei gave birth to a healthy baby boy. The whole family was thrilled and made plans for the month celebration. Woodzi Woman proudly announced everywhere: "The month celebration will be handled by me and Mingyang’s father..."
Xiu Mei was also happy; since her mother-in-law had taken such a high stance, there was no need for her own funds at that moment, so she didn’t bring it up again.
A month later, Xiu Mei’s parents and relatives from her maternal family arrived with red sugar eggs and small clothes and blankets for their grandson... They also brought ten or twenty yuan as gifts for the baby. Friends and relatives from Wu Mingyang's side did similarly, while neighbors contributed three or five yuan as “neighborhood gifts.”
The full moon celebration was bustling and lively.
That evening, Mu Xiumei counted the cash gifts and felt something was off. How could it only total a little over two hundred yuan? She clearly remembered that just from her maternal family alone, the gifts for the baby had almost reached three hundred yuan, and the relatives from her in-laws contributed about the same amount (not to mention the neighborhood gifts, which were all favors accumulated by her father-in-law and mother-in-law; they also organized the banquet, so that portion belonged to them). There was no way it could only be a little over two hundred yuan!
Mu Xiumei asked Wu Mingyang what was going on.
Wu Mingyang replied, "Mom took the money!"
Mu Xiumei asked, "Why did she take it? I can understand if she keeps the neighborhood gifts, but why does she need to take those from relatives and friends?"
Wu Mingyang explained, "She said the banquet was organized by her and Dad! These relatives came because of them..."
Mu Xiumei felt a surge of anger; her mother-in-law really never spoke up about anything (which felt unreasonable)! She immediately set down her nursing baby and headed towards her in-laws' front yard.
Wu Mingyang said, "You just gave birth; why are you going out?"
Mu Xiumei replied irritably, "To collect debts!"
Wu Mingyang had to stay home to look after the baby. Although he knew trouble was brewing, he couldn't stop his wife.
Upon arriving at the front yard and seeing what was happening inside, Mu Xiumei became even angrier. Her mother-in-law was selling off the gifts of noodles, brown sugar, eggs, and other items sent by friends and neighbors to people coming from the market (there were too many guests for the maternity room, so these gifts had been placed in the front yard)... Even if there were many items to handle, she should at least inform the rightful owner!
Suppressing her anger, Mu Xiumei asked, "Mom, what are you doing?"
The Woodzi Woman smiled awkwardly and said, "Xiu Mei, I saw there were too many things, so I thought I'd find someone to handle some of it. Otherwise, if they sit around too long, they might spoil."
The person collecting the items felt embarrassed: "Sister-in-law, you didn't discuss this with Xiu Mei before handling these things?"
Mu Xiumei didn’t dwell on that issue but steadied herself and said, "Mom, my brother said our family is buying a tractor now. We don’t have enough money; can you return that over a thousand yuan you took from Mingyang? Let my brother use it for a few months!"
Who would have thought that the Woodzi Woman would play dumb: "Xiu Mei, that money was used for the baby’s full moon celebration today!"
Mu Xiumei's anger flared up instantly; her voice rose several octaves as she no longer called her 'Mom': "So you’re using our money to save face while pocketing our gift money? How can you be so meticulous with your calculations? Even if this event was funded with our money, six or seven hundred yuan would have been enough. You can't just keep all of Mingyang's hard-earned sixteen or seventeen hundred yuan for yourself!"
Feeling wronged and furious, she first choked up before bursting into tears.
Neighbors gathered under the guise of offering comfort to watch the scene unfold. Listening to Mu Xiumei cry and speak out loud made it clear what was happening.
The next day, Mu Xiumei directly took her child back to her maternal family. Soon after, her aunt and sister-in-law along with a group of women confronted the Woodzi Woman: "Our Xiu Mei is not going to live with your Mingyang anymore!"
Surprisingly, not a single neighbor stepped forward to say even one word in defense of the Woodzi Woman.
Woodzi Woman was at it again. Not to mention the daughter-in-law, that fair-skinned and plump grandson was a member of the Wu family! Mingyang's Aunt and the elder woman came over to mediate, saying all the right things. Only then did Xiu Mei, Aunt, slightly relent: “You need to hand over every penny that should go to my niece, and apologize to her in front of all of you!
Also, because of this incident, my niece is so upset that she has stopped producing milk. After calculating, the formula alone will cost around eight or nine hundred yuan this year, so her mother-in-law needs to contribute as well. If she refuses, we’ll start looking for another family for my niece. Whatever their surname is, that child will carry that name in the future, and there will be no connection to your Wu family at all!”
This last statement became the final straw for Woodzi Woman, forcing her to comply with each demand.
Why did it have to come to this? Cang Fusheng, the author of Medical Path to Success, once said, “Kindness may not always be rewarded, but evil will eventually backfire.” I’m not sure if Woodzi Woman’s actions could be considered evil, but she certainly faced the consequences of her behavior.
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